Friday, March 23, 2007

Catching up .............

First of all I apologize to those of you who actually look for updates on this blog. I have been distracted by a number of odd projects.

First there was baby bee's 2nd birthday and the birthday-palozza that surrounded it, then the Basketball tournament and the ridiculousness that the "Schneider-cup" has come to represent. You can follow the whole thing at The Official Schneider Cup site, but to sum it up for those of you who don't know my family dynamic, I will just say that my father always describes the NCAA Tournament as the closest my family comes to a religious high holy days celebration.

Lastly, following the Elmo festivities thrown for Baby-Bee, Ms. Bean decided that it was time to start planning her own birthday party for June. I have been informed that it will be a Princess Party at home. The rest of the planning and presentation is up to me. However, she will be wearing a beautiful dress an her friend Caitie is to be in attendance! Now, some of you might remember that I don't do princesses. SO, I have taken this on as a personal challenge. The research (love that word, makes it sound like an academic exercise) has been, umm, enlightening. You MUST check out this description of a Little Mermaid Party to really appreciate what I am up against. This, believe it or not, is NOT unique. People are nuts, and since I never did get around to getting that Masters Degree in Party Panning, I am at a serious disadvantage. So far I purchased most of the Party favors at the urging of Tom who was at the mall with me and didn't want to drive all over creation looking for the right tieras for 4-year-olds. Stay tuned for details, June is right around the corner!

I still have a commitment to my readers to finish my Tudor Series with a discussion of Elizabeth Tudor, Daughter of Henry and his Whore, Anne Bolyne. Promise to get it done before 1 April.

I also wanted to make mention of this article from Tuesdays Washington Post. It highlights the University of Maryland study that come out this week which found that working moms actually spend MORE time with their children then housewives spent with their kids in 1965. It also found (not surprisingly) that fathers are spending nearly three times more time with their kids then any other generation. According to this research (a real academic exercise) working moms are able to spend this kind of time with their families by giving up personal time, including their kids on vacations/social outings and cutting back on household chores and cooking (the invention of the microwave is probably a HUGE factor here). Most pleasing, the research concluded that today's kids are well adjusted, happy, and appear to get plenty of quality time with their parents (despite their parents guilt).

I have been following the Mommy Wars since about a year before Ms. Bean was born, so, I am certain that the SAHM rebuttal will come shortly. However, I have enjoyed being able to go to work this week knowing that all things equal, my kids will grow up to be well adjusted adults who know that as children they were cared for and loved.

However, they might be on the couch in 2020 telling their shrink that their mother never gave them the Princess Party of their dreams and as a result they have unresolved issues.